Page 9 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

Despite how gorgeous he was, something about it annoyed me. More specifically, the smugness in his pleased expression and the faint arrogance that lingered around him. It was like he knew the power he held in his looks alone, and I found that infuriating.

There was no doubt in my mind that Val knew the effect he had on others. It didn’t take much to assume it…not while other women in the room glanced at him from the corners of their eyes, or how the men seemed to ogle him with envy in their gazes.

He certainly seemed to be a focal point of the room, even if that wasn’t his intention, yet he didn’t seem bothered by it. He didn’t even look at them.

Instead, he was busy looking at me.

“I would say that your father told me a lot about you, but that wouldn’t exactly be true,” Val murmured, allowing that vaguely amused grin to linger on his lips. He tilted his head slightly as if to thoughtfully examine me. “Although I can confirm what he did say was true, at least…”

As much as I wanted to drop the conversation and find a way to leave him, my brows furrowed slightly. “And what did he say about me?”

It was hard to believe Dad would be talking to him about me in the first place, and something in me needed to know what that conversation entailed.

He hummed. “He said you were a real prize…and I’m feeling inclined to agree.”

A shiver moved down my spine at that, nearly startling me. It took everything in my power to keep my flush down, and I scoffed to cover it up.

“He’s my dad…he has to say that about me.”

This earned a chuckle from Val. “But seeing as I’m not, consider me an unbiased party. That gives my words more merit.”

He had a point, and his insistence only flustered me further.

Before I could say anything, he leaned in a bit closer, still grinning with the faint drop of his voice. “And I’m beginning to think you’re as difficult to impress as you are beautiful…”

Damn, he was good. Almost too good.

Pulling in a discreet breath, I did my best to school my emotions. He was stupidly sexy and giving me far too much of his undivided attention, but I didn’t want to crumble. I needed to keep myself together for my own sake.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I believe it is,” Val murmured, letting his gaze linger on my features for quite some time, flicking down to my lips before moving back up. “But I’m not one to be discouraged easily.”

His words sent another shiver down my spine, but I held it all in and tried to focus on the annoying parts of him. “Apparently not. I wonder if you can take a hint.”

Val cocked a brow at that, visibly intrigued by the response. He chuckled again and shifted the faintest bit closer. “You’re quick…I can appreciate that fact.”

As much as I wanted to both somehow win the exchange and get myself away from it, the satisfied, almost longing gleam in his eyes was harder to pull away from than I thought possible. He drank me in, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.

I knew he was doing it all on purpose—flustering me just to get a reaction. It was irritating, just like him, yet I still didn’t leave. He was almost magnetizing, in a way.

“You know, I’m thinking I didn’t give you enough credit from the start, but you’ve proven to be far more interesting than I would’ve assumed,” he said with almost practiced ease, like it wasn’t his first time finding himself in such a situation.

I had every reason to believe he had done his fair share of shameless flirting, given how he looked, anyway.

Feeling locked in place, I couldn’t escape the suggestion in his eyes. The clear invitation to continue for as long as I could stand it.

Those ridiculously beautiful features were getting harder and harder to resist, regardless of how aggravating the conversation felt. Almost like he was constantly throwing something at me to put me off balance, and I had no choice but to dodge it every time or find myself ensnared in his charm.

It would be a spineless surrender, and I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to offer him that pleasure—not when he seemed to already know it would be an easy feat for him.

Still, I had never met anyone like him before…I had certainly never been so keenly observed before either.

Clearing his throat, Dad returned to my side and glanced between the two of us, as if silently questioning what we were talking about. He seemed almost…pleased with the fact that I was still there with Val.

I took the smallest step back to put more space between the two of us before giving my dad a small smile. “Did you find whomever you needed to speak with?”

He blinked back at me for another moment as if forgetting, then nodded. “Yes, yes…everything’s handled.” His eyes drifted to Val then. “If you’ll excuse us, the auction is about to start.”

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